News Room

The Dirty Water Crusade: House Votes to Deteriorate EPA Clean Water Act Enforcement

Recently, the Republican dominated U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2018; a bill designed to undermine the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to protect our nation’s water by enforcing the Clean Water Act.

This bill would directly affect California’s residents, agriculture and environment by compromising water supply quality standards. Much of southernCaliforniarelies on Colorado River Aqueduct water. Colorado River water flows through six states before it reachesCalifornia. There is a provision in H.R. 2018 that would give the power to upper watershed states, in this case Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada and Arizona, to weaken their pollution protections standards below those of California. This bill would remove the authority EPA has to assure our water quality standards are not undermined.

This bill is so egregious that the White House has already threatened to veto the bill, saying it “would roll back the key provisions…that have been in the underpinning of 40 years of progress in making the nation’s waters fishable, swimmable and drinkable.”

If you would like to get involved, contact your Senator and urge them to oppose H.R. 2018 by voting NO ton ALL of the misguided and dangerous bill and riders that are part of this dirty water crusade.